A Gift for The Damned
by Persephone287
Summary: This is a sequel to The Parting Gift. 12 years ago, circumstances forced Damon and Elena to take their son away from Mystic Falls. Now they've decided it's safe to come home...but no one is ever safe in Mystic Falls. Least of all 16 year old Grayson Salvatore. A/N - My plan is to reveal what happened before the Salvatore's left Mystic Falls throughout the story.
1. Chapter 1

**A Gift for the Damned**

 **Hello again! I'm calling these first 3 my 'test' chapters for this story to see if there's any interest.**

 **This is a continuation of The Parting Gift, featuring all your favorite characters, but centered mostly around 16 year old Grayson Salvatore. 12 years ago, Damon and Elena fled Mystic Falls to save themselves and their son from the constant barrage of supernatural enemies. Now they've decided to come home and nothing will ever be the same.**

 **I can't begin to tell you how anxious I am for your feedback on this. It's taken me quite some time to put the ideas into an actual story and Grayson is my first original character. I hope you enjoy it and, as ever, thank you so much for reading this story!**

 **~xoxo, P**

 **Chapter 1**

 **T** he creak in the floor was barely audible but since it was the only sound in the unusually quiet house, Grayson heard it. He turned away from the full-length mirror to find his father leaning against the door-frame of his room. Their matching blue eyes met and his dad looked at an invisible watch on his wrist.

"School doesn't start for another three hours, kiddo"

"I couldn't sleep" Grayson confessed.

"Nervous?"

Grayson shrugged and went back to appraising his lanky reflection. His dad kept assuring him he would grow into his long frame but right now, he felt gangly and awkward.

"Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I'm not cut out for public school either"

After his last day of Freshman year at St. John's private school, he had finally worked up the nerve to talk to his parents about switching to a public school. He hated his classmates. He'd hated them since 6th grade and the idea of spending three more years with them was depressing. They were all a bunch of stuck up, rich, jerks. Grayson didn't have anything in common with them aside from the fact that his parents had a lot of money, and that had never really mattered to him. His mom readily agreed and after a little cajoling, his dad got on board too. Not that he was surprised, it wasn't like his parents were blind. They knew he didn't have any real friends. Grayson had never had a sleepover and his birthdays were celebrated with his strange assortment of relatives. A mere two weeks after he'd first mentioned it, they had fully moved into the Boarding House and he was enrolled at Mystic Falls High.

"Gray, you haven't even set foot in the school yet" Dad commented with an arched brow.

"What if they think I'm a loser like everyone at St. John's did?"

"They will if you wear that."

He looked down at his dark blue slacks with dress shoes and a black button down shirt. Except for the blazer and tie that St. John's had required, it was the same thing he'd been wearing to school every day for the last four years.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You look like a lawyer."

"Thanks, Dad" he said sardonically.

Before Grayson could blink, his dad was standing in front of him and his hand was strategically tousling the inky black hair that Grayson had carefully smoothed to one side.

"Dad!" he cried with a scowl.

"There, less lawyer-like already" his dad said before he started digging through his dresser.

He produced the pair of expensive dark wash jeans he'd purchased for him earlier that week.

"Put these on, ditch the shoes for your boots, and change into a t-shirt"

In his world, jeans and t-shirts were weekend clothes. He'd never worn them on a Monday.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. You change and I'm going to make you some breakfast."

"I'm not…" he was about to say 'not hungry' but he shut his mouth at the look on his father's face.

Grayson knew better than to argue with his dad when he looked like that.

"Bacon?" he asked instead.

"You got it"

Dad disappeared down the stairs and Grayson changed into the suggested outfit. When he turned to look at himself in the mirror again, he was pleasantly surprised. He looked like one of the 'normal' kids he had always been so envious of. Satisfied with his appearance, he headed down to the kitchen.

"Much better" Dad commented when he saw him.

He was standing at the stove making bacon and his Uncle Stefan was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in front of him.

"You're missing something" Stefan told him as he looked him up and down.

Grayson didn't get a chance to ask what before Stefan disappeared and returned with a worn, black leather jacket. It belonged to his uncle and he'd been wearing it for as long as Grayson could remember.

"Here, it might be a little big but you'll grow into it"

"But…this is yours."

"I have other jackets" his uncle said with a smile and pushed it toward him.

He accepted it with reverence and slid his arms into the sleeves. It was a tiny bit too big but the leather was soft and the fit was comfortable.

"Thanks, Uncle Stefan" he said as he ran his hand over the material.

"You're welcome, buddy."

"Now you look like a Salvatore" his dad said with a grin as he set a plate of bacon on the table.

The comment had Grayson beaming. Being in a room with his uncle and father had always made him feel like a little kid. He knew they were vampires and they had never lied to him about their past but they were his heroes nonetheless. When he was little, they had been tireless playmates. Games of hide-and-go-seek and tag had lasted all day. Much to his mother's chagrin, they taught him to shoot a gun at the age of thirteen. Last summer they had started repairing a broken down '69 Mustang together with the promise that it would be his when he turned 16 in a few weeks.

"Pssst" he hissed quietly at his dad from across the table.

Dad looked up from the Mystic Falls Gazette and Grayson pointed at the cup of coffee in front of his uncle. Mom didn't want him drinking coffee yet. She thought he was too young but Dad and Uncle Stefan snuck him a cup or two in the morning when she wasn't awake yet. His dad didn't say anything for a moment as he listened to see if Mom was up, then nodded and held up his index finger indicating Grayson could have one cup.

"Ready for your first day as a Timberwolf, Gray?" his uncle asked.

Grayson shrugged.

"He's nervous" his dad said.

"I am not!"

Dad shrugged and gave him a 'whatever you say' look.

"You're a straight A student. What do you have to be nervous about?" Stefan asked.

"I'm not nervous!" he insisted.

"He's not worried about his grades. He's worried about fitting in."

Grayson narrowed his eyes at his father behind his back.

"If you don't stop glaring at me, you'll get no coffee for the rest of the year" Dad said mildly.

Knowing that his dad didn't make empty threats, Grayson sighed and dumped a splash of creamer in his coffee. The downside of having a 190-year-old vampire for a father was never, ever being able to get away with anything.

"Take it from the guy who's been through high school three times, you're going to be fine. You'll be the cool, mysterious new guy" his uncle promised him before polishing off his coffee and getting up from the table.

"The school needs your dad to fill out some paperwork this morning so he's taking you today but I'll pick you up at 3:00."

The garage that his uncle worked at back in New York was a few blocks from his school so he'd always been the one to drop him off and pick him up. Not that Grayson minded being driven to school by his dad but it would be weird not to have his uncle there to see him off.

"Ok, see you later."

"Have a good first day, kid" Stefan said and ruffled his hair before leaving.

"He's right about your classmates, you know. They're going to be more curious about you than anything else" Dad told him.

The idea of being a curiosity didn't make him feel any better but he nodded and sipped his coffee. Dad handed him the comic section of the paper and they read in silence for a while before the Calvin & Hobbs strip reminded him of something he'd been meaning to ask.

"Should I call Uncle Ric Mr. Saltzman?" he asked

"Yeah probably" Dad said without looking up from his paper.

 _That'll take some getting used to_ he thought. Aunt Jenna and Uncle Ric were the closest thing he was ever going to have to grandparents. They spoiled him at every opportunity and if Aunt Jenna didn't hear from him at least twice a month, she would send him on the mother of all guilt trips. They had been beyond thrilled when they got the news that the Salvatore's were going to make Mystic Falls their permanent residence. Grayson had shared their enthusiasm; he loved spending summers here. It always felt like coming home. His parents, along with Uncle Stefan, had moved to upstate New York when he was four, shortly after his mom had been killed and turned into a vampire. Mom had grown up here and they were afraid people would start to notice that she and her husband weren't aging. Now, after 12 years, they finally felt like it was safe enough to come home.

"Mom's up" his dad said before quickly snatching away the coffee cup and dumping the remainder in the sink.

 **D** amon sat down and picked the paper back up seconds before Elena walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, beautiful" he said sweetly.

"Morning, mom"

"Good morning" she replied and kissed them both on the on the cheek before going to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"Gray, you were up early this morning" Elena commented.

"I couldn't sleep"

Their son had always been something of an insomniac. He was seven years old before he finally slept more than four hours a night. There were no nightmares, he wasn't afraid of the dark, or monsters under the bed, the kid just couldn't get to sleep. Damon disliked the idea of magical intervention but the boy had to get some rest so they eventually asked Bonnie for help. Now there was a sachet of herbs that lived under Grayson's pillow and, for the most part, it seemed to do the trick.

"Do you need a new pouch from Aunt Bonnie?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine" he assured her.

"Ok. Did you eat breakfast?"

"Yeah"

"And you have everything you need for your first day?"

"Yeah"

"Did you see his new jacket?" Damon interjected, hoping to prevent his wife from peppering Grayson with more questions.

Elena was an amazing mother but she was such a worrywart sometimes.

"No, let me see. Stand up" she said with a bright smile.

Grayson obligingly stood and allowed his mother to dote on him.

"Look at you! Isn't it nice not to put on the same old boring uniform?"

"Yeah I guess"

"You look more like your dad every day" she said as she tugged at his lapels and brushed the hair out of his face.

It was true. Apart from the slight olive tone to his skin, their son was his spitting image. Especially today with his tousled black locks and leather jacket. His face was losing its youthful roundness and, in the last year, Damon saw his own sharp jawline start to appear. Grayson's blue eyes lacked the hardness that more than 100 years as a vampire had added to Damon's but the color was identical. It was probably spiteful of him but he was secretly glad there wasn't even a trace of Giuseppe in his son. Not in his looks or his temperament.

"Alright, stop fussing. We have to go" Damon said and stood up.

Elena huffed out a breath.

"I really wish I could be there today" she said sadly.

"It's cool, Mom. Janet's head will explode if you don't get her those chapters today"

Janet was Elena's editor and she'd been waiting on the final chapters of what was sure to be, yet another, best seller. The deadline had passed two weeks ago and Janet was having a meltdown.

"Her head is going to explode anyway when she reads the ending"

"I'm sorry I'm going to miss that" Damon muttered.

When Elena started writing her first book, he had taken it upon himself to do all her research. It was something he was surprisingly good at and even enjoyed doing so he'd become her official researcher. The only downside was dealing with Elena's chatterbox of an editor. The woman talked non-stop and he had fantasied more than once about compelling her into silence.

"Can I read the last chapter when I get home?" Grayson asked.

He was his mom's biggest fan.

"Of course! Now get out of here before you're late" she said and pecked him on the cheek.

As Grayson headed for the front door, Damon swept Elena into his arms and kissed her thoroughly.

"What was that for?" she gasped when he let her go.

He shrugged.

"You're beautiful and amazing and I love you"

"I love you, too" she said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Grayson was quiet on the drive to the school. He stared contemplatively out the window until they rolled up to the pale brick building and parked the car.

"Ready?" Damon asked.

"As I'll ever be"

He hoped Grayson was oblivious to the dozens of pairs of eyes that followed them as they made their way to the principal's office. Given that he had been a rebellious, free spirited youth, Damon had expected to have a hellion for a child. What he got was a shy young man, with a big heart, who often seemed more grown up than most adults that he knew.

"Grayson!" Alaric boomed when he came out of his office to greet them.

"Hey Uncle…er…Mr. Saltzman"

"Yeah that's going to be weird" the tall, sandy haired man said with a frown.

Ric had taken up the principal position several years ago when Weber finally retired and he seemed to really love it. The school loved him back; test scores had gone up considerably and the graduation rate was at an all-time high. His position as principal had factored into Damon and Elena's decision to allow Grayson to attend Mystic Falls High.

"That's what I said" Grayson responded.

"Let's only go with Mr. Saltzman when there are other students around" he told the boy with a wink.

"Ok"

"Alright, kid let's get you your class schedule and your dad can take care of all the super-fun paperwork"

"Oh goody" Damon said dryly.

He would have liked to walk Grayson to his first class but no 16-year-old wanted their dad to drop them off at class so he let Ric do the honors while he waited in his office. He was dealing directly with Ric instead of his secretary since some of the documents were forged. Damon had been born before the age of social security numbers and, according to the government, he had been dead for a century and a half.

"So, are you glad to be home?" Ric asked as Damon signed his name for the billionth time.

"No but my kid was miserable and my wife wanted to be closer to you people, so here I am"

"It'll be fine. The town has been quiet for years now and you three are the only vampires in Mystic Falls"

"Caroline will be here in a week" he pointed out.

"Ok, so four vampires"

"You know how much supernatural activity there was in Ithaca? Zero."

Ric sighed and pushed another sheet of paper across the desk. Unlike the rest of his family, Damon had been less than excited about coming back to Mystic Falls. Decades could go by with nothing remarkable happening to him but the moment he set foot in this town, it all seemed to go to hell.

"Just keep an eye on him" Damon told him as he signed the last document.

"I will" Ric promised him.

 **G** rayson sat in homeroom and watched the minutes' tick by. Most of the kids were chatting about their summers or discussing who was hooking up with whom. He was doodling on the inside cover of his notebook.

"You're Grayson, right?" a friendly female voice said, startling him.

He looked up to find a beautiful girl with a cherubic face, bouncy blonde curls, and hazel eyes, smiling down at him.

"Yeah" he said shyly.

"I'm Tori Donovan. Actually, it's Victoria but everyone calls me Tori. Welcome to Mystic Falls"

"Oh, um it's nice to meet you…and thanks"

"Did you know my dad and your mom used to date?" she asked as she took the seat in front of him and turned to face him.

"Uh, no" he said and eyed her skeptically.

The only time a girl this attractive had been nice to him was for a joke. It had been a humiliating experience and he was in no hurry to repeat it.

"Yep. My dad is the sheriff so I thought I'd introduce myself since…you know…I know"

"You know?"

"Yeah…you know…about your parents?" she said.

Grayson froze and stared at her. She had to be talking about something else. No one outside his family knew that his parents were vampires. They'd told him the truth when he was twelve and drilled into him that it was crucial to their survival that he never, ever tell anyone their secret.

"What about my parents?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Right. Sorry. Look, why don't we go to the grill after school? We can play pool or something" she suggested brightly.

"Um…" he tried to think of an excuse.

"Please? My dad told me you were coming here and up until now I was the only kid who knew how freaky this town really is"

"Erm…well…I'll have to ask my parents" he said, stunned.

"Great! I'll meet you out front after school"

The bell rang and she sprang from her seat, turning to wave at him before leaving the classroom. He spent the rest of the day on edge in nervous excitement. It had to be a good sign that someone was nice to him in the first hour of his day here. Not just someone; a girl. A pretty girl. He started to write a text to his dad and realized that he had never had to ask permission to do go anywhere on a school night. It took him a moment decide what to say.

 _A girl asked if I could play pool at the grill after school. Can I go?_

After an hour with no response, Grayson started to worry his dad was going to say no. When his phone buzzed at lunch he practically ripped it out of his pocket.

 _Yes, you can go. Stefan will pick you up at 5._

Grayson breathed a sigh of relief and wondered what his problem was. He didn't even know Tori. Maybe she was annoying or stupid or both. Nevertheless, when the final bell rang, he found himself hurrying to meet her in front of the school. She was waiting for him just outside the door and they started the short walk to the grill.

"So, how was your first day?" she asked.

"It was ok I guess. It's a lot different from private school"

"You were in private school?"

"Yeah, in New York"

"You're from New York?"

"I grew up there but I was born here"

"Do you miss it?"

"Not even a little bit" he confessed.

"Why did you move?"

"I hated my school and my mom missed my aunt"

"What about your dad?"

"I think he'd rather be in New York but he'll do anything to make my mom happy"

"That's sweet" she said with a smile.

"What about you? You said your dad is the sheriff?"

"Ugh, yes" she said and heaved a sigh.

"Why 'ugh'?"

"Full disclosure? I don't really have any friends here. No one wants to party with the sheriff's daughter and it sucks being the only one who knows about the…weirdness"

The look on her face was heartbreaking. Tori was biting her lip and eyeing him like she was afraid he might call her a loser and ditch her.

"I know exactly what you mean" he said with a reassuring smile.

He was half overjoyed and half bewildered to have found a kindred spirit.

"Really? I would have thought you'd be Mr. Popular" she said skeptically.

"Me? Are you serious?" he asked with a laugh

Tori stopped and he realized they'd arrived at The Mystic Grill. Grayson held the door open for her and followed her to an empty booth near the back of the restaurant. A waitress who knew Tori by name stopped at the table to take their drink orders.

"They know you here?" he asked.

"My dad used to work here and so did my aunt"

He nodded and tried to think of something interesting to say.

"So, how old is your dad? Really, I mean" she asked quietly.

Grayson swallowed and said nothing.

"It's ok. I know what they are" she tried to assure him.

"I'm sure you're a nice person and all but my parents are really private people" he said sternly.

It occurred to him that his parents might be the only reason she was talking to him. Maybe she was one of those girls who was obsessed with vampires.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just…well…like I said, I'm the only kid who knows about the vampires and I was looking forward to having someone to talk to about it"

"How do you know about them?" he asked cautiously.

"My aunt was killed by one and I found the file in my dad's stuff a couple of years ago. I made him tell me the truth about what happened to her"

"You made him?"

"It's just the two of us and he always says that if we aren't honest, it won't work so I threw that in his face"

"Nice" Grayson said impressed.

"When did your parents tell you? If that's ok to ask…"

He hesitated but he supposed that was ok to answer. It left the door open for plausible deniability. He could have been talking about anything.

"I was twelve" he said simply.

"Wow, that's young"

"It's kinda hard to keep secret when you live with them" he said, feeling like he was treading into dangerous territory.

"What about your mom?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his parents.

"She left when I was a baby. I don't even remember her"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about your aunt too. I should have said that before" Grayson said, feeling sheepish for not being more sympathetic.

"It's ok" Tori said and stared at her hands.

"So…pool?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Tori smiled and nodded. They played pool and chatted about nothing for an hour before Uncle Stefan called to say he was out front.

"Do you want a ride home?" he asked.

"No, my dad will be here in a few minutes. Thanks, though and thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun"

"Me too" he said with a smile and ducked out of the restaurant.

Grayson hopped into his uncle's little red Porsche feeling lighthearted and unable to wipe the grin off his face.

"Good night?" Stefan asked with a sly grin.

"It was really good."

"Who's the girl?"

"Her name is Tori Donovan and she's the sheriff's daughter"

"Matt Donovan's girl?" his uncle asked, in a strange tone.

"Uh-huh"

Uncle Stefan made a 'hmm' noise and stared at the road.

"What?" Grayson asked suspiciously.

"She probably knows about us" his uncle answered pointedly.

"I know. She told me. But I didn't tell her anything, I promise"

"Just be careful, ok?"

"I will"

"And tell your mom before you tell your dad. In fact, tell your mom and then let her tell your dad"

"Why?"

"Your mom used to date Matt Donovan"

"So?"

"So…just trust me"

Grayson rolled his eyes and said ok.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **" D**onovan? Really? Of all the kids, he befriends Andy Griffith's daughter?" Damon asked as he pulled a shirt over his head the next morning.

"Damon! You know I don't like when you call him that" Elena said from the bed.

He smirked at her unapologetically.

"Grayson said she told him she knows about us. He wants to know what he can tell her" Elena said worriedly.

"Shit…" he muttered.

"Will you talk to him please?"

"Me? Why me? You talk to him."

"Because I don't know what to say" she said, batting her eyelashes at him with an adorable little smile.

"Oh no, don't give me that look" he said shaking his finger at her.

"Please. He worships the ground you walk on. He'll listen to you."

Damon narrowed his eyes at her but he knew he was going to cave. She was sitting up in bed wearing his shirt and her hair was tousled from his fingers.

"Ok so I'm telling him what? Stay away from her?"

"No! Maybe…I don't know. I want to meet her. I haven't seen her since she was a baby. Tell him to invite her over for dinner."

"A dinner invitation is going to be better coming from you than me, Elena" he told her.

She pouted at him and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Fine, you're right. I'll tell him to ask her over sometime this week" she conceded.

"This is the beginning. It'll start with the girl and next thing you know, he's not our little boy anymore. He'll turn into an angst-y teenager who wears eyeliner and smokes pot" Damon told her.

"You're being absurd."

"We'll see"

 **"** **D** inner?" Grayson asked wide eyed when his mother approached him about it that evening.

"Yes, dinner. Why?" she asked from the other end of the library couch.

He and mom were having their weekly Terrible TV night where they watched all the bad soap operas they'd recorded during the week. It had started the summer he broke his leg and couldn't get off the couch for a month. The two of them had been sucked into reruns of _Days of Our Lives_ and it had spiraled from there.

"I don't know. I just met her" he said.

"So?"

"So, I'd like to hang out with her for more than a couple of hours before I decide to bring her here"

"Are you embarrassed by us?"

Mom sounded hurt and he dragged a hand through his hair with a sigh.

"No, of course not, but our family isn't exactly normal and since this is the first potential friend I've ever really had, I'd like to get to know her a little better before I introduce her to my vampire parents."

"I guess that's fair" mom said.

She still looked disappointed.

"If we're still hanging out in three weeks, I'll invite her to my birthday thing, ok?" Grayson promised, trying to appease her.

Dad wasn't the only one who would do anything to make his mom happy. She was his best friend, his only friend really, and the idea of letting her down was upsetting.

"That sounds perfect" she said with a smile.

"The last chapter was great by the way. Did Janet lose her mind?" he told her, trying to change the subject.

"I kid you not, she was actually speechless. You really liked it?"

"I loved it. It was sad but I think it was the right way to end it. It's a good thing you write under a pseudonym though. You're going to have some pissed off fans."

"They'll get over it…and if they don't, oh well. I think I'm done with that series."

"Really? You're going to leave it like that?"

"Maybe…or maybe I just need some bad TV to inspire me" she said with a grin and turned the television on.

Over the course of the next week and a half, Grayson went to the grill with Tori after school almost every day. On his second Friday night in Mystic Falls, he and Tori decided to switch from pool to darts and he was kicking her ass. He only had half an hour before his uncle came to get him and he was a little bummed that the evening was almost over.

"Oh crap" she muttered.

"What?" he asked and turned to see what she was looking at.

A broad shouldered blonde man was standing at the front of the grill staring them down. He didn't look happy.

"Who's that?"

"My dad" she said, sounding nervous.

"He didn't know you were here?"

"No, he knew I was here" she said and gave him a sideways look.

It took him a moment but it finally hit him.

"Ah, I get it. He didn't know you were here with me."

"No" she confessed sheepishly.

"He didn't tell you about me and my parents just to tell you. He was warning you to stay away from us."

"Grayson…I…I'm sorry. I have to go but we'll talk tomorrow, ok?"

"Whatever" he said and turned back to the dart board.

When he peeked over his shoulder, the Sheriff and Tori were gone. He should have known it was too good to be true. Friends were just never going to happen for him. Nothing normal was ever going to happen for him. He chucked the last dart and wondered what to do for 30 minutes. Playing darts by himself seemed a little pathetic but he didn't really feel like explaining to Uncle Stefan why he needed to be picked up early. Before he could think seriously about it, a pair of cool hands covered his eyes from behind.

"Guess whooo" a familiar sing-song voice cooed to him.

A wide, genuine smile spread across his face.

"Auntie Caroline" he said gleefully.

She dropped her hands and spun him around to throw her arms around his shoulders.

"Ohhh I've missed you!" she said and squeezed him tightly.

If she had been a regular aunt he might have been embarrassed, but since she looked more like his classmate than a woman who'd changed his diapers, he decided he didn't care if half the town saw her hugging him.

"I missed you, too" he told her and returned the embrace.

"I'm sorry I'm early but I just couldn't wait to see you. Where's your friend? Stefan said you were here with Matt Donovan's daughter."

"She left" he said, not even trying to hide the sadness in his tone.

"Why what happened?" she said leading him to an empty booth so they could sit and talk.

Grayson would never admit it out loud but Caroline was his favorite aunt. She was easy for him to talk to and she always knew what to say to make him feel better when he was down. He wished she was around more but she travelled all the time for her job as a corporate head hunter.

"I guess her dad told her not to hang out with me."

"But I thought you two had been friends for a couple of weeks now."

"We have."

"You know, sometimes it's harder getting the whole story out of you than it is your dad" she said wryly.

"She didn't tell him that we were hanging out but he showed up at the grill tonight and saw us. He looked pretty pissed."

Caroline eyed him sympathetically.

"It's not you, sweetie. You know that, don't you? It has nothing to do with you."

"Dad didn't kill his sister…did he?"

It wasn't something he liked to dwell on but he knew his dad had killed people.

"No, Matt just hates vampires. He always has and it's hard to blame him. He won't even speak to your mom or me."

"Why?" he asked, truly confused as to how anyone could hate his aunt or his mom.

"A lot of things happened in your first four years of life and someday I promise I'll tell you the whole story but for now, suffice it to say that Matt Donovan has suffered at the hands of the supernatural more than anyone I know. Honestly, it's a miracle he's alive."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Because I can't drink with you yet and that is a story that requires copious amounts of alcohol."

He gave her a skeptical look.

"Let's talk about something else. Like your birthday! I was thinking we could do go-karts. Not the lame ones with the lawn-mower engines but the really fast ones" she said with a mischievous grin.

This was another reason she was his favorite; somehow, she made every single one of his birthdays special. It had never mattered that he didn't have any friends his age, every year topped the one before. Auntie Caroline took birthdays very seriously. Especially his.

"Ok!" he said excitedly.

"You mother will hate it but your dad and I will work on her. So, what do you want for your birthday? I know I can't beat the Mustang but I still want to get you something."

"Will you get me pizza from the city? It's literally the only thing I miss about New York."

"Consider it done. What else?"

"Can you compel me some friends?" he asked and instantly wished he hadn't.

She was trying to cheer him up and he had to be a dick about it.

"Aww, kiddo" she said sadly and reached over to squeeze his hand.

"Sorry, that was a lame thing to say. I'm really excited you're here. Pizza, go-karts, and you guys are all I need for my birthday."

"And the Mustang" she added.

"And the Mustang" he agreed.

"You ready to go home?"

He sighed.

"Yeah"

" **H** e said _what?"_ Elena demanded angrily.

"Oh, come on. You can't be that surprised" Caroline said from across the kitchen table.

Grayson had gone straight up to his room when he got home and Caroline appeared in the kitchen with several bottles of wine. Bottle number three was half gone.

"None of that has anything to do with Grayson"

"No but can you blame the guy for being a little over protective? Everyone he's ever loved has either died or left him in one way or another. Including you. Would you want _your_ daughter dating the vampire's son?"

Elena huffed out a breath. Caroline had a point but it was so unfair to Grayson. He didn't ask for this and none of what had happened to Matt was his fault. If it was anyone's fault, it was hers.

"Grayson was just so excited to have a friend, Care. You should have seen him. He was going to invite her to his birthday."

"What are you gonna do?" her friend asked with a shrug.

"I'm going to talk to Matt."

"What?" Caroline sputtered into her wine.

"I'm going to talk to him."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"He's on the council, Elena. We're lucky he hasn't outed us already."

"He wouldn't do that."

 _Would he?_ she wondered. She wondered it again the next morning while the phone rang.

"Hello?" Matt's voice answered.

"Matt, hi. It's Elena."

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice turning cold.

"To have coffee. With you."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Are you really asking me that?"

"Please, Matt. We're bound to run into each other eventually. Why not make it less awkward by meeting on purpose?"

"Fine. I'll meet you in an hour."

"I'll see you then."

He hung up before she could say goodbye and Elena wondered again if she shouldn't have listened to Caroline. An hour later, she was sitting across from him in a coffee shop, clutching a latte, and trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say. They had chosen a lonely table at the back of the café for privacy.

"I'm sorry."

That seemed like a good place to start.

"For what?" he asked.

"All of it. Vicky, all the stuff that happened to you, your ex."

"It wasn't all your fault."

"Most of it was and I'm sorry it even happened. You shouldn't have been involved. I should never have involved you."

"I won't argue with that."

"None of it is my son's fault."

"I don't care" Matt said icily.

"So, you want your daughter to be friendless?"

"What do you know about Tori's social life?" he snapped

"I know that before Grayson moved to town, she didn't have one" Elena shot back.

Matt pushed his chair back.

"This was a mistake"

"Wait. Don't go" she grabbed his wrist and he paused.

"I'm sorry, that…wasn't how I meant it. Both of our children are aware of things that no child should ever have to know about. Separating them is cruel, Matt. They'll never find anyone else who understands their world better than one another."

He sat back down but his gaze was hard.

"I don't want her involved with vampires" he whispered angrily.

"It's too late for that. You involved her the minute you told her they existed. You and I didn't lie to our kids because we knew we could trust them, we knew they were smart enough and strong enough to handle it. But they will handle it so much better if they have each other. Those first couple of years after Tori and Gray were born, wasn't it easier together?"

The night that Katherine had kidnapped her, she had rekindled her friendship with Matt and discovered he'd been dating a girl named Hayley for several months. She also discovered that Haley was four months pregnant. Elena had wanted very badly to find a kinship Hayley but the girl seemed horrified at her pregnancy. She'd confessed to Elena one night that she was disappointed when the doctor said it was too late for an abortion. The ink wasn't even dry on the birth certificate before Hayley disappeared and she hadn't been heard from since. Elena had hoped Tori and Grayson would grow up together but Matt stopped speaking to her the day she married Damon.

"Yeah, I guess it was" Matt said, his expression softening a fraction.

"Don't you want to meet him now that he's grown up? I know I want to meet Tori."

He shrugged but Elena could see the ice thawing.

"Will you let her come to his birthday party? We're going to an extreme go-kart track."

"Extreme go-karts?"

"It's safe, I checked."

"Ok, she can go" he told her, sounding resigned.

"Thank you, Matt."

"Don't make me regret this, Elena."

He finished his coffee in a gulp and left without another word.

"That went well" she said dryly to no one.

 **G** rayson's phone buzzed on the kitchen table Sunday morning while he was having breakfast with Dad. He looked down to see Tori's name displayed across the screen and hit the 'silence' button.

"You gonna answer that?" his dad asked.

"No."

"I think you should."

He shook his head and continued to ignore the phone.

"Fine, I'll answer it."

"Hey!"

"Grayson's phone" his dad said pleasantly into the receiver.

"Why yes, he is here. Just a second, Tori."

Dad pushed the phone toward him and Grayson glowered at his father as he snatched it out of his hand.

"Hey" he said, keeping his tone neutral.

"Hey" she replied carefully.

"So, what's up?"

"Look, about the other night…" she started.

"It's…whatever. It's cool."

"It's not. I should have told you about my dad. I'm really sorry, Grayson. Can I buy you coffee to make it up to you?"

"What about your dad? I don't want to get you in trouble."

"I don't know what happened but he had a change of heart. He said we can hang out."

"Really?" he asked, sounding more excited than he would have liked.

"Yep! So…coffee?" she sounded excited too.

"Sure, when?"

"Can you meet me in town in an hour?"

Grayson looked up at his dad, knowing he'd been eavesdropping. Dad nodded and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Ok, see you soon" she said happily and hung up.

"See I told you, you wanted to answer it" his dad said smugly.

"Yeah, yeah. Are you going to give me a ride or what?" he snapped.

Grayson wasn't sure where that had come from. He was never rude to his dad.

"Lose the attitude and we'll see" Dad told him with dark look on his face.

"Sorry. Dad, will you please take me to the coffee shop in a few minutes?" Grayson asked politely.

"Much better. Yes, I will."

"Thanks."

"Do you like this girl?" Dad asked on the way into town.

"Yeah, she's nice."

"No, I mean do you _like, like_ her."

"Oh. I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it."

Dad gave him a funny look and made a 'hmmm' sound.

"Why?"

"Just curious. Is she pretty?"

"Uh-huh" he confirmed.

His dad gave him another weird look and furrowed his brows.

"What?"

"You know you look like me, don't you?"

"Um, yeah."

This was turning into a genuinely strange conversation.

"It's just…I was about your age when girls started following me around."

"She's not following me around. We're friends."

"I know. I just don't want you to be surprised if she has a crush on you."

"Do you think she does?" he asked, suddenly anxious.

"I don't know, Gray. I haven't met her."

"So what do I do if she does?"

"That depends on how you feel about her."

"What if I don't know?"

"You know what, forget I said anything about it. Just stick to being friends and see where it goes, ok?"

"Ok…" he said hesitantly.

"Are you going to invite her to go-karts?"

"Do you think I should?"

"If you want her there, you should."

"I do want her there."

It turned out, Tori was completely on board with extreme go-karts. The café had been crowded so they were walking around the town square with their coffee.

"That sounds like so much fun! Do we get to race?"

"Yep and my Aunt Caroline has a trophy for the winner."

"Oh I am so going to kick your ass."

"No way. You're going down."

"Just so I'm clear on everyone, your Aunt Caroline is a vampire too?"

"Uh-huh and Uncle Stefan, too. Aunt Bonnie is a witch but Uncle Ric and Aunt Jenna are just regular people."

"Doesn't your mom have a brother, too?"

"Jeremy won't be there. He's…well, we don't see him much."

Grayson was a little vague on the details but something had happened to his uncle when he was 18 and now he spent most of his time in Europe. Talking about Jeremy seemed to make his mom sad so he didn't ask about him.

"Ok, I think I've got it" she said.

They walked for a minute or two in silence. Every time he glanced over at her, her brows were knit and she was chewing on her lip.

"Are you alright? You just got really quiet on me."

"I'm kind of nervous."

"About what?"

"Meeting your family."

"My dad is a little rough around the edges but you're totally safe with them. I promise."

"I guess it's just one thing to know that vampires are real and another to actually meet one. Or four."

"At least you're meeting vampires who don't want to eat you" he said lightly, trying to make her smile.

"When I asked my dad if your family hurt people he said all vampires hurt people."

"That's probably true" he admitted.

"Have you ever seen anyone in your family hurt a person?"

"No. I've seen my dad compel people but it's always pretty harmless. He cuts in line a lot…don't tell my mom that, though" he said.

"Is there, like, blood in your refrigerator?" she asked with a wrinkled nose.

He laughed.

"No, they keep it in the basement"

Her mouth fell open in astonishment.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"I guess that makes a certain amount of sense" she said, still looking slightly unnerved.

"You don't have to come if it's too weird" he told her but he didn't mean it.

He really wanted her to be there.

"No! I definitely want to go."

A week later it was his birthday and Tori was right, it was fun. Caroline had rented out the entire track for their group. As it turned out, Uncle Stefan was the champion go-kart driver of the day and he gloated about it the entire way back to the boarding house.

"You're quick like the bunnies you eat" his dad teased and earned himself a punch in the arm from his brother.

As requested, Dad made his favorite lasagna and chocolate cake for his birthday dinner. His mom refused to take no for an answer when she invited Tori to come back to the house for dinner and she was now sitting next to him in the back seat of the Camaro looking slightly uncomfortable. She had stayed close to him at the track and she had been unusually quiet.

"Is everything ok?" he asked her after dinner.

They were sitting in the kitchen munching on the remnants of the chocolate cake while his mom and his three aunts drank wine in the living room. Ric had to leave right after go-karts to take care of school stuff, his uncle had disappeared (probably hunting), and his dad was upstairs in his office so he finally had a chance to talk to her.

"Yeah why?"

"You've just been really quiet today"

She stared at her fork for a long moment before looking back up at him.

"You have a great family" she told him with a tinge of sadness in her tone.

"They're alright I guess."

"I always wished I had a big family like yours. You have no idea how lucky you are to be surrounded by people who love you."

There were tears in her voice and he fumbled for words.

"Can I use your bathroom?" she asked quickly.

"Sure, up the stairs and it's the second door on your right" he said, feeling lame for not coming up with something better to say.

 **D** amon ran his hands over his face and stared at the open book on his desk. He'd read the same sentence six times and he still wasn't sure what it said. Most of the time research for his wife was interesting and, since her focus was historical fiction, a lot of it he already knew. Notable fourteenth century painters, however, were mind numbingly dull. Unfamiliar footsteps in the hallway caught his attention and he leapt at the opportunity to be distracted. He picked up his drink and ambled over to the doorway. There was a small, blonde teenager examining one of the portrait paintings across from his office.

"Cyrus Salvatore" he said.

The girl jumped and spun around to face him.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop" she said, looking frightened.

"It's alright. It's there for people to look at."

Her heart was pounding and tension was radiating off of her like a heatwave.

"Was there something in particular about Cyrus that caught your eye?" he asked conversationally, hoping to put her at ease.

Tori turned back to the painting.

"He's very lifelike. I feel like he's watching me."

"Good painter. Cyrus made the Salvatore's very rich. I doubt he skimped on the artist."

"How did he do that?"

She had relaxed a little so he came to stand next her.

"He's the founder of Salvatore Lumber."

"Oh. What about this one?" she asked, pointing at an old painting of a pale man with a lumpy nose and a powdered gray wig.

"That one survived the fire that destroyed the old Salvatore mansion. He's a distant French relative of my mother's. I'm sure his name was something frilly like Francois."

A little giggle escaped her.

"Do you like art?" he asked.

In spite of himself, he was curious about Tori Donovan. He wanted to know what his son saw in her.

"Not really but I like history."

"Then you're in the right place. Tell Grayson to give you a tour" he told her.

"Does he know who all these people are?"

"Maybe not all but he should know the important ones."

"Which ones are the important ones?" she asked.

"The ones I remember" he told her with his signature half smirk.

"You're not as scary as I thought you would be" she blurted out.

That got a real laugh out of him.

"And _you_ are much more likable than I thought you would be. C'mon, I'll walk you back downstairs."

They found Grayson at the bottom of the stairs and his eyes turned questioning when he saw them.

"Tori, did Gray tell you about his car?" he asked and gave his son a reassuring wink.

"No! You have a car?" she cried.

"Well, I can't drive it yet. I get my license next week."

 _Jesus, that's terrifying_ Damon thought. Not that his kid was a bad driver but the thought of Grayson out there on the road alone was enough to keep him up at night.

"Yeah but you have a car! What kind is it?" Tori demanded.

"It's a Mustang. We've been rebuilding it all summer" Grayson answered her proudly.

Damon jerked his head in the direction of the garage over Tori's shoulder.

"Do you wanna see?" he asked, taking the hint.

"Um, yeah" she said as though the answer should have been obvious.

"No joy rides" Damon told them as they dashed off in the direction of the garage.

Since he didn't really feel like participating in girl time or going back to his research, he laid back on the stairs and closed his eyes for a few minutes before Stefan came back. His brother didn't say anything, he just plopped down on the stairs next to him and stole the bourbon out of Damon's hands.

"Boo, you suck" he said, glaring at Stefan as he downed the contents of the glass.

"Thanks, I needed that. Good night" Stefan said.

He set the glass down, gave him a brotherly pat on the shoulder, and disappeared up the stairs.

"Thief!" Damon called after him.

He eyed the empty tumbler and decided he'd had enough anyway. He had to take the girl home in an hour.

"Damon?"

Bonnie Bennett appeared in the archway by the stairs and he smiled genuinely at her. They had been through a lot together and over the years, she had become one of his closest friends. Despite his hesitations about Mystic Falls, he was glad to have her back in their everyday lives.

"Hey Bon-Bon. How goes it?"

"Where are Grayson and Tori?" she asked, her voice tight.

"In the garage. Why?"

That wasn't a tone Damon liked. The witch shook her head at him and walked out the front door with him on her heels. They found the kids in the driveway and Grayson was turning in circles, looking confused.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Grayson!" he called, feeling panic rising in his chest.

"Dad! Dad, do you hear that?"

Damon listened but he didn't hear anything. He was about to say so when he saw Bonnie's face.

"Get them inside" she said seriously.

Tori jumped when he appeared in front of them a millisecond later.

"Inside. Now" he told them.

"But…" Grayson started to say.

"Now!" he barked.

Tori's eyes went wide and grabbed Grayson's hand to yank him towards the door.

"Bonnie, what the hell is going on" Damon asked, still hearing and seeing nothing.

She had her face turned skyward and she appeared to be listening intently.

"Bon…"

"Shhh!" she hissed.

A few seconds later, she faced him again. Her jaw was clenched and she looked angry.

"What?" he asked her, exasperated.

"You aren't going to like this" she told him.

"What am I not going to like?"

Instead of answering, she went to her nephew who was standing just inside the foyer, his mother and his other two aunts behind him.

"Grayson, what did you just hear?" she asked him.

"It was a bunch of people whispering. I couldn't understand what they were saying, though" his answered, his brow furrowed.

Bonnie turned back to Damon, her expression grave. He shook his head at her.

"No. He's just a regular kid. You said he was just a regular, human kid!" he yelled angrily at her.

"I was wrong" she told him gloomily.

Damon clenched his fists and fought back the string of curse words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"What is going on?" Elena asked urgently.

"My ancestors just recognized a new power in our line"

"I'm confused" Grayson said, sounding upset.

"Let's go inside. We'll explain, ok?" Bonnie told him gently.

"Tori, I'm going to take you home now" Damon said.

She nodded but shot Grayson a worried look.

"Stay here. I'll bring the car around"

He didn't wait for her response before he went to get his car. Vaguely he heard her tell Grayson she would see him tomorrow and to text her later.

"I'm not going to ask you to lie to your dad but in the interest of friendship, I'm going to recommend not mentioning the last part of the evening to him" Damon told her on the way to her house.

"I don't even know what just happened" she said, sounding stunned.

"That makes two of us."

"I won't say anything to my dad" she promised.

He gave her a tight smile.

"Is he going to be ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, he'll be fine."

"You all just looked really worried back there."

"Grayson will tell you all about it tomorrow" he told her as they pulled up to her house.

"Ok. Thanks for the ride" she said and climbed out of the car.

Damon made sure she got inside the house before he sped away. He was about five minutes from the boarding house when he pulled over to the side of the road and got out of the car. He paced in angry circles, trying to get himself under control. It wasn't working. Bonnie swore up and down when Grayson was born that she didn't sense any magic in him. Aside from his supernatural heritage, he would grow up to be a regular human. It had been a relief to he and Elena both. All they wanted was for their son to have as normal a life as possible.

"Goddamnit! Fuck! Son-of-a-fucking-bitch!" he shouted and kicked a rock hard enough to break it into tiny pieces.

A rustling in the trees next to the road had the blood rushing to his eyes and he sniffed the air. It was definitely a human.

"Whoever you are, unless you have a death wish, I suggest you turn around and go back the way you came."

"Dad?"

Grayson emerged from the trees and Damon quickly returned his face to normal.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" he said softly.

"I went for a walk"

"Some birthday, huh?"

"It was good up until about an hour ago, when I learned I'm a freak of nature" he said.

"Welcome to the club, kid. What did Bonnie say?" Damon sat on the hood of his car and patted the spot next to him.

His son sat down, looking sullen.

"She said there's magic in my blood from the spell you were under when you…made me" he said awkwardly.

"We made you in this car, you know" Damon told him with a smirk.

"I'm going to pretend you never said that"

He chuckled.

"Dad, are you mad at me?"

"Why on earth would I be mad at you, Gray?"

"I don't know. You were cussing a lot a minute ago and you didn't really say anything to me before you left"

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad that this is happening to you."

"What's happening to me?"

"Magic, the supernatural, is interfering in your life. Because having a family full of vampires isn't enough, now you get to deal with this, too" Damon told him, unable to keep the fury out of his voice.

"Is it really that bad?"

A very big part of him wanted to tell Grayson the truth; that magic had put his family members through more hell than any one group of people could possibly ever deserve. But he and Elena had agreed the truth could wait until their son was at least 18. They wanted to get him through adolescence before they laid their nightmares on him.

"No, it'll be fine. I've just had some bad experiences with witches, that's all."

"You like Aunt Bonnie" Grayson pointed out.

"Bonnie is the exception."

"So how freaked out was Tori?"

"On a scale of one to ten? I'd say a four"

"Really?" he sounded surprised and pleased.

"Yep. If we're being honest, a Donovan would not be my first choice of friend for you, but I think you've got a good one there."

"I guess if you didn't scare her away, nothing will" Grayson teased with a sideways grin.

"Oh, you think you're funny, do you?" Damon said, yanking his son into a headlock and rubbing his knuckles against his scalp.

"Mercy!" the boy cried with a laugh.

Damon let him go and stood up.

"Let's go home. I'm sure your mom is worried about both of us by now."

 **A** week later, Grayson was walking to the grill from Aunt Bonnie's to meet Tori. He had been meeting with her every day after school for an hour to talk about magic. He hadn't actually practiced any magic yet but Bonnie promised that she would start teaching him spells soon. She told him that her introduction to magic had been rushed and she was determined that he take the Practice slowly and seriously. To be honest, he was grateful that they were taking their sweet time. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the word 'warlock'. It sounded like something out of a nerdy board game. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the shadow that leaped out of the alleyway and grabbed him roughly by the back of the jacket. To his total surprise, it was a police officer that slammed him against the brick wall.

"You don't look so tough to me, vampire brat" the officer scoffed at him.

Before Grayson could respond, the cop punched him twice in the abdomen and he doubled over. A knee connected with his face and pain exploded behind his eyes as he toppled to the ground. He looked up to see the policeman raise his fist again and he braced himself for the blow, but it never came. Instead there was a familiar blur of motion and before he could blink, the cop was flat on his butt a few feet down the alley with blood pouring out of his nose. It looked broken. Grayson tried to get up but the wind was still knocked out of him so he pushed himself into a sitting position against the wall.

"I don't know what kind of special moron you are" Dad sneered at the officer as he advanced on him.

"But that is a teenage boy" he gestured toward Grayson " _I'm_ the vampire."

The cop started to fumble for the gun at his waist and he saw an annoyed look on Dad's face before he swiftly disarmed him and, looming over him, he crushed the muzzle of the weapon like it was made of tissue paper. When Dad turned slightly to throw the weapon in the dumpster next to him, Grayson could see that his eyes were blood red and there were veins rippling over his face. This was something he had seen exactly twice in his life and, in both instances, it had disappeared so quickly he'd never really understood what it meant. As the officer began to push himself backwards, away from Dad, he a got an inkling as to why people were intimidated by his father. Dad stalked the cop slowly before he leaned down and gripped him by the neck, lifting him until his feet were dangling in the air and he was gasping for breath.

"If you come near my child again, I will tear your fucking head off. You got me, officer…Forbes?"

His dad's voice sounded surprised at the name and Grayson's own brows furrowed. _As in Auntie Caroline?_ he wondered. Dad threw him to the ground and he instantly rolled to his knees coughing.

"You've gotta be related to Bill" his dad said dryly.

The officer glared up at Dad and nodded.

"That figures"

Just as Grayson thought his dad was going to turn away, he spun around and kicked the officer in the chest with such force he flew into the dumpster and landed on his back with a thud. An instant later, Dad had ripped the badge from the cop's breast and he crushed it in his fist before tossing it in the dumpster as well.

"Liz Forbes was my friend and you aren't fit to wear a badge that shares her name. Good luck explaining this to the Sherriff" he said, glancing at the trash bin.

Then Dad was in front of him, his appearance returned to normal.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked.

"I think so"

Dad helped him to his feet but the moment he was standing, his side began to ache painfully. He almost fell over but his dad caught him under the arm and led him out of the alleyway.

"Let me see" Dad said when they were standing under a street light.

Grayson leaned against the wall and pulled his shirt up to reveal a huge purple bruise covering the right side of his ribs. He winced at the sight of it.

"Ouch, looks like you've got some cracked ribs, kiddo."

"How's my face?"

Dad gave him a grimacing half smile.

"Ahh…it's not so bad. Let's get you home and cleaned up" he said.

Before they could walk away, Grayson's phone started to chirp in his pocket and Tori walked out of the grill with her phone pressed to her ear.

"Tori, over here" he called to her.

She hung up and turned towards them, her face washing over with worry when she saw him.

"Grayson! Oh my God, what happened?" she cried and hurried toward him.

Officer Forbes chose that moment to stumble out of the alleyway and glare at them as he hobbled away.

"Did Randy Forbes do this to you?" Tori demanded angrily.

"You know him?" Dad asked.

"Of course, I know him. He works for my dad. Did he do this?"

Grayson nodded and she glared over her shoulder at the man in question.

"Do you want to come back to the kitchen? The guys will give you some frozen peas or something for your face."

Grayson looked to his dad.

"Actually, that would be great. Why don't you take him back there?" dad said.

"Where are you going, Dad?"

"To call your mom, tell her what happened. I'll be there in a minute."

Tori put an arm around his waist and they walked towards the back of the grill to the kitchen entrance.

"Randy is such an asshole" Tori told him sympathetically.

"Do all the cops in this town know about vampires?"

"No, the Forbes' are a founding family so they're on the council" she said as they reached the back entrance.

Tori led him to a stool in the kitchen and a very large Asian man named Frank handed Grayson a bag of ice wrapped in a cloth.

"He's going to pay for this, I promise. My dad will take his badge" she said and took the ice from him to hold it gently over his eye.

"He'll have to fish it out of the dumpster first" Grayson told her with a grin.

She laughed and shook her head.

"Your dad is so much cooler than mine" she told him.

"It was a little weird, actually. I've never seen him that angry before."

"Well, he had a pretty good reason."

Grayson just nodded. The image of his dad's vampire face kept flashing through his mind.

"So how was your magic lesson today?" she asked quietly.

"Pretty non-magical" he told her.

"Dang, I keep hoping that one of these days you're going to tell me you can fly or something."

A bark of laughter escaped him.

"I don't think there's a flying spell."

"How do you know? You haven't learned any spells yet" Tori teased.

"Fair enough" he said with a grin.

"Hey so are you going to the Decade Dance?" she asked, a little too casually.

Suddenly his heart dropped into his stomach and it struck him again how pretty she was.

"Um, I don't know. Are you?"

Tori shrugged and looked at the floor.

"I mean, if you're going to go, I'll go too"

"Yeah sure, it could be fun, right?" he said.

She looked up and smiled at him.

"What could be fun?" his dad asked with a smile as he appeared in the kitchen.

"The Decade Dance" Tori said.

Dad's face fell and he sighed.

"I hope you have better luck with it than I did. What era are they doing this year? And please don't say the 50's."

"No, it's the 20's" she told him.

"At least the clothes were good. Alright kids, let's get out of here. Tori, I'm taking you home."

It wasn't a question and Grayson stood up immediately. Tori looked like she might try to say no but Dad shot her a glance and she changed her mind.

"What happens if you ignore that look?" she whispered as they walked behind Dad on the way to the car.

"I've never wanted to find out" Grayson admitted "and he can hear you, by the way."

"From all the way back here?"

They were 20 yards behind him.

"Yep."

Tori gaped at him.

"I bet you've never gotten away with anything in your entire life, have you?"

"Nope" he confirmed.

After they dropped Tori off, the events of the evening replayed over and over in his mind. He'd never really thought much about how dangerous his parents were. It was in the back of his mind but having seeing it firsthand tonight, he was a little unnerved.

"Dad?" he asked finally.

"Yeah?"

"Did you want to kill that cop tonight?"

A surprised look passed over his dad's face and he sighed.

"I did" he confessed.

"If he had attacked you instead of me, would he be dead?"

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose and gave him a pained look.

"Do you remember when mom and I told you what we were and we promised we would never lie to you?"

"Sure"

"Do you remember what else we told you?"

"That sometimes I wouldn't like the things you told me."

"Right. This is probably one of those instances. Yes, Gray, I would have killed him."

"I don't know how to feel about that."

"That's understandable"

"It seems like I should have been afraid of you and I should be upset that you wanted to kill him but I'm not. Mostly I'm just glad you got there before _he_ killed _me_ "

"You are so much like your mother, you have no idea."

"What do you mean?"

"With one very good exception, she never had the good sense to be afraid of me either."

"What was the exception?"

"There were extenuating circumstances and I had to scare her on purpose. I'll tell you the whole story some other time."

"I've been hearing that a lot lately" Grayson muttered as they pulled up the house.

"Oh? Who else said that?"

"Auntie Caroline. She said that Sheriff Donovan had a lot of bad supernatural stuff happen to him and she would tell me about it when I was legally allowed to drink with her."

Dad let out a bark of laughter.

"Alcohol would definitely help with that conversation."

"You guys know I'm going to find out what happened here before we moved eventually, right?"

His dad sighed again.

"We know we're delaying the inevitable but this isn't stuff you want in your head, Grayson. I'm sorry but I'm going to wait as long as I possibly can to tell you about it."

"But you'll tell me if I need to know, won't you?"

"If a situation arises where I think you need to know something from our past, I will tell you."

 **E** lena managed to keep herself in check until Grayson was safely tucked in his bed. White hot fury burned through her when she saw his poor battered cheek and ribs. Fortunately, the mother in her outweighed the vampire. She got him another ice pack, wrapped his ribs gently in an ACE bandage and put him to bed with a couple of mild pain killers. Then she went back downstairs where Damon handed her a large tumbler of bourbon. She slammed the liquid and threw her glass angrily into the fire.

"How did you not kill him?" she demanded of her husband.

How could he allow the man who'd put hands on their baby to continue to breathe? He certainly never had before.

"You think I didn't want to? Our son was watching, Elena."

When she met his eyes, she could see they were wild with rage. She dragged her fingers through her hair with an aggravated cry and then his arms were around her.

"I'm so angry, Damon. I can't stand it" she murmured against his chest.

"I know, baby. I know."

He did know, she could hear it in his voice. His control was as thin as hers. Then he pulled back, his vivid blue eyes dark and serious as they started intently into hers.

"Stefan and Care are here, right?" he asked.

"Yes, why?"

"We're going out to the forest" Damon said and started to drag her to the front door.

"What? Why?"

"To take it out on each other."

She almost told him he was insane but he was right, they needed to get it out of their systems or someone was going to get hurt.

"Ok, let's go."

They ran at supernatural speed next to one another until they hit the trees. Then he tackled her and pinned her to forest floor with a predatory grin. He crushed his mouth to hers and she kissed him back madly before shoving him off her and leaping to her feet. Damon followed suit and made a 'come get me' motion with his hands. She flew at him, slammed him into a tree and jumped up to wrap her legs around his waist. Elena stared down at him and watched his visage change. She allowed her vampire to take over and a low growl rumbled through his chest before they started tearing at each other's clothes.

Hours later, they lay in a tangle of limbs on the cold ground. Elena's legs were numb and she felt much better than she had before.

"That was an excellent idea" she told him.

"Yeah it was" he agreed.

"Except that we destroyed our clothes" she commented.

"Did anything survive?"

Elena pushed herself up and spotted her pants. She grabbed at them to see if they were salvageable.

They weren't. Damon had torn them almost in half. She held them up for him to see and giggled.

"Oops" he said with a laugh.

He groped around and came up with his pants and most of his shirt. His pants were intact but the shirt was torn down the middle.

"Wrap yourself in this" he said and held the shirt out to her.

She slid it around her shoulders while he tugged his pants back on. Then they both got to their feet and she looked over at him with a grin. There were spots of blood smattered on his chest from where she'd bitten him and his hair was sticking out all over the place. She looked down at herself to see there were similar spots of blood on her chest, her arms and caked in the tips of her hair. When she reached up and touched her head, she pulled a stick out of the tangled mess.

"We look like murderers" she said.

"Probably but the important thing is that we _didn't_ murder anyone."

Elena shook her head at him and smiled. They walked slowly back to the boarding house and snuck in through the patio door and headed towards the kitchen to get to the back stairs. Unfortunately, their entrance wasn't as stealthy as planned. They found Caroline sitting at the kitchen island drinking out of a blood bag. Her mouth dropped open when she saw them.

"Oh my God! Are you ok? What happened?"

"Um…" Elena started.

"We did this to each other" Damon finished for her, shamelessly.

Caroline rolled her eyes but gave them an amused smile.

"You two are disgusting. Go upstairs and shower before your kid sees you."

They took her suggestion and fell asleep shortly after. Damon woke up early the next morning to go to a library in Richmond for a book he needed for her next novel. It was set in the civil war and she was looking for authentic references. Elena had decided she was going to sleep in. She had finished the latest revisions from Janet before Damon brought Grayson home last night so she had nothing to do but laze around until Damon got back. She almost didn't hear the doorbell when it rang around 10am but the fourth time it went off, it dragged her from sleep. She pried herself from the bed, wrapped herself in her bathrobe, and padded downstairs. When she pulled the door open, she found Matt Donovan standing on the front porch. He was wearing his sheriff's uniform and he took his hat off when he saw her. Elena crossed her arms over her chest.

"What can I do for you _Sheriff"_ she snapped at him.

"Elena, I am so sorry. What Forbes did was inexcusable and I fired him this morning."

"And who told him about us to begin with?"

"I swear to God, Elena, it wasn't me."

She felt the ice melting a little. His face looked so earnest and it was nice that he'd come in person to apologize.

"Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee?"

"No, I should be going but thank you. I just wanted to apologize and make sure Grayson was ok. Tori said he was pretty banged up."

"He's got a few bruises but he'll live."

"Thank you for not taking things into your own hands."

"You're welcome."

"Anyway, I'll see you later" Matt said, awkwardly.

Elena watched him walk away with a sense of sadness. She wondered if they could ever go back to being friends. No sooner had she shut the door and began contemplating coffee, than there was another knock at the door. Hoping Matt had changed his mind, she spun around and opened the door with a smile. It waned the moment she saw her little brother standing on the front porch. Anxiety exploded in her chest and she felt her vampire senses prickle.

"Jeremy, what are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

Reluctantly, she stood back and let him in.

"Wow, this place never changes" he said as he walked into the parlor and looked around.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" Elena demanded.

"C'mon, Elena, don't be like that."

"Don't be like what? You almost killed my husband and I think I've made it abundantly clear that you are not welcome here."

"Your husband is a killer."

"He was never anything but good to you."

"And that absolves him of all the murders he's committed?"

"I'm not having this conversation again. I want you to leave" Elena said, feeling her anger rising.

Jeremy held up his hands.

"Look, that's not why I'm here."

"Then, for the third time, what are you doing in Mystic Falls?"

"I need to talk to you about Grayson."

The growl she emitted was involuntary.

"You stay away from my son."

"This is important, Elena. The witches who help us sensed his power. It's strong and there's something... off about it."

"Bonnie is helping him" she told him tersely.

"We just want to talk to him, test his power. It will only be a couple days and he'll be with me the whole time."

"I want you to listen to me very closely, Jeremy; if _you_ would like to speak to your nephew as his uncle, you are more than welcome to see him. If you and your people try to take him, you are going to have to go through all of us."

"They sent me here as a courtesy because you're my sister. If you don't let me take him now, they'll come for him."

"Let them come."

"If they have to take him by force, you'll never see Grayson again."

Damon walked through the door and Elena knew the instant she saw him that he'd heard what Jeremy had said. Usually when he looked like that, someone was about to die.

"Do you remember what happened to the last guy who tried to take my kid away from me, Jer?" Damon asked in a frighteningly calm tone.

"Get out. Now" Elena told her brother.

"Fine but don't say I didn't try to warn you."

Jeremy edged passed an enraged looking Damon and out the front door. The moment he was gone, Elena scrambled for her phone and dialed Ric over and over until he picked up.

"Jesus, Elena I was in a meeting. What is it?" He answered, sounding peeved.

"Jeremy was just here. He wanted Grayson. I need you to tell me he's sitting in class."

"One second."

She heard him rushing through the halls.

"He's here. He's in algebra. Do you want me to pull him out?"

"No, no. I don't want to scare him. Just don't let him leave campus, ok? I'll pick him up after school."

"He goes to the grill with Tori every day after school. He's going to want to know why he can't go tonight" Ric warned her.

 _Shit_ she thought.

"I'll figure it out but please..."

"No one goes near him."

"Thank you, Ric."

Elena dropped the phone the moment she hung up so she wouldn't crush it.

"He can have her over here tonight. I'll make dinner, you go sit on the school" Damon said urgently.

"Ok, you call Stefan and I'll call the girls."

Before she could rush off, Damon stood in front of her and cupped her face.

"No one will come between us and our son. We will keep him safe. I promise you, we will keep him safe" he told her.

Elena tried to fight back the tidal wave of emotions running through her as she hauled ass towards the school. She hadn't set eyes on her brother in ten years and the last encounter had gone about as well as this one. When the Augustine's took it upon themselves to wake him as a hunter, Bonnie had been able to help him get his instincts under control, but when Elena turned he blamed Damon and somewhere along the line, blame had turned to hate.

Grayson had been surprised to see her waiting for him but he and Tori professed to be tired of Grill food anyway. Her boy knew her too well, though, and he kept shooting worried glances her way. She did her best to act natural. She pestered them with questions about school and what they were wearing to the decade dance and how Grayson's driving lessons were going. It didn't fool him. The minute Damon left to take Tori home, he started questioning her.

"Mom, are you ok?" He asked as she handed him a plate to put in the dishwasher.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because I can count on one hand the number of times you've picked me up from school."

"Well it didn't make any sense in New York. Today it made sense."

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're a really bad liar?"

She sighed and put down the cup she was rinsing. His expression was so familiar she almost laughed. He looked exactly like Damon with his pursed lip smile and his raised eyebrows.

"Yes, your father. On multiple occasions."

"C'mon, Mom. Just tell me what's freaking you out."

"My brother is...he's... I don't know how to explain this" she said and pressed her fingers against her eyes.

"It can't be any harder than telling me you're a vampire."

"Actually, it can. There's so much that led up to what happened to him, it would take days to tell you about it"

Elena took a deep breath and paraphrased to the best of her ability.

"He got sucked into a group of people who hunt vampires when he was young. His loyalty to these people is unshakable, Gray. Jeremy turned his back on his family and everyone who ever loved him to join this group."

"So? You never talk to him. Why does any of this matter?"

"He showed up today asking about you. He wanted to take you to the people he works for."

"Me? Why me?"

"Apparently, the witches that they employ sensed the power recognized by the Bennett's. Bonnie's line is old and insanely powerful. If you have even a tenth of what she has, you are going to be force to be reckoned with. I'm sure the idea of Damon Salvatore with that kind of power at his beck and call is disconcerting to them" she told him.

"But Dad would never... He'd never ask me to hurt somebody for him."

Grayson's voice was so genuine, so sure, she wanted to cry. Would Damon ever manipulate him on purpose? No. But if he was desperate enough, if the situation were dire enough, there wasn't a soul in the world who could predict what Damon would do. Elena took a deep breath and grasped her son's hands in her own.

"Your dad loves you so much, Grayson. Whatever anyone tells you about him, please don't forget that."

"I won't."

"And if you see your uncle or... your _grandfather,_ walk away."

She said the word 'grandfather' with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Grandpa John? Why would he be around?"

John was incapable of keeping his opinions to himself. It had seemed unfair at first, to deprive the man of the only grandson he would ever have, but when he told him that his parents were monsters, they had banned John from Grayson's life. Inevitably, John had re-discovered that Damon and Stefan were vampires but by then it was too late. Grayson was two and Elena was weeks away from marrying Damon. On her wedding day, it had been Stefan who walked her down the aisle, not her father or her brother.

"Hopefully he won't be but if he does, you have my permission to swear at him"

"Thanks, Mom" Grayson said with a laugh and slung his arm around her shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - Hello lovely readers! I am so happy you all liked the first three chapters! This one took me a little longer to complete but it's got a little action and even a flashback to baby Grayson so hopefully you enjoy it. As always, I wait with bated breath to hear what you think. xoxo ~P**

 **Chapter 4**

 **A** unt Bonnie lived in the small loft apartment above the old doctor's office that used to be operated by the man Grayson was named for. As he did every day, he cut through the musty un-used office space and up the back stairs that led to the loft. The space wasn't large but his aunt had made it her own and he had always enjoyed visiting her as a kid. It was cozy, with aging overstuffed furniture that didn't match and sentimental knick-knacks everywhere. A small, utilitarian kitchen was at the back of the room and a ladder to the left of it led to a sleeping area. Almost two weeks had gone by since his estranged uncle's visit and nothing out of the ordinary had happened so Grayson had expected today to be like all the other days; he would sit down and Bonnie would explain (again) about the balance of power and the responsibilities that went along with having magic before going on to tell him how to theoretically practice magic. He would listen and try not to doze off on her. But today was not like all the other days. Today he walked into the loft and there were unlit white candles scattered throughout the room and a very old book was sitting on the coffee table at the center of the living room, along with a stone bowl containing a burning bundle of leaves. The smoke from the bundle was pungent and the smell seemed to permeate every corner of the space.

"Aunt Bonnie?" He called as he dropped his backpack at the door.

"I'll be right out" she called back from the kitchen.

Her back was to him but he could see her pouring water from a kettle into two mugs.

"I made green tea for you" she said and held one of the cups out to him.

In truth, he wasn't a big fan of tea but, of all the ones she had forced on him, he liked the green tea best. He accepted the mug from her and blew over the top of it to cool it down.

"What's with all this?" He asked gesturing to the unfamiliar items.

"I'm proud of how patient you've been and, in light of recent events, I've decided it's time to learn some real magic."

A mix of excitement and terror washed over him. Part of him was thrilled at the idea but he was also secretly hoping she had been mistaken about him having magic at all.

"Don't worry. We're going to start small. Come sit in front of this big candle on the table."

He sat crossed legged on the floor in front of the large pillar candle that was next to the old book.

"Ok, now remember what we talked about; focus on the candle, imagine it lighting up, see the fire in your mind. Got it?"

"Got it" he said and did his best to visualize the little black wick covered in orange flame.

"Now, keep your focus, and repeat after me: _Phasmatos Incendia"_

 _"Phasmatos Incendia"_ he said.

Nothing happened.

"Again, but you've got to mean it" Bonnie told him.

" _Phasmatos Incendia"_ Grayson said more insistently.

Still no fire. He felt himself getting discouraged and he knit his brows at the candle.

"Again!"

" _Phasmatos Incendia!"_

"Louder!"

" _Phasmatos Incendia!"_ He shouted at the candle and for a second he could have sworn he felt fire burning in his chest.

Then, to his complete amazement, the candle was lit. He glanced up at his aunt for approval but she was looking around the room with wide eyes. Grayson turned his head and saw that all the candles in the apartment were lit.

"Well, there goes my next lesson" she muttered.

"Did I do that?"

"You sure did."

"Is that bad?"

"No... I just wasn't expecting you to progress so quickly."

"Could you do that when you started doing magic?" He asked.

"Yes, but I did it on purpose. What were you thinking about when you lit the candle?"

"I just annoyed that it wasn't working."

"Emotions and magic go hand in hand, Grayson. If you let your emotions get the better of you when you're using magic, people will get hurt. We're going to need to work on your control."

She waved her hand and all the candles went out.

"We're going to try again but this time, I only want you to light _this_ candle. Feel the magic moving through your blood and focus that power."

Grayson closed his eyes and, this time, he really could feel the power coursing through him. He drew the magic upwards and out, towards the candle and repeated the incantation. When he opened his eyes, the candle was lit but the flame was at least two feet high and the candle began to melt rapidly. With another wave of her hand, his aunt extinguished the flame.

"Yep, definitely going to work on control" she said with a worried expression.

"I don't get this. I'm not even related to any witches. Why do I have so much magic?"

He wasn't sure he liked having this kind of power. The last thing he wanted was to start accidentally setting fires.

"I can't say for sure but I have a theory. I'll tell you but you have to promise you won't repeat it. Not to anyone. Not even Tori. Your mom and dad know but that's it" her usually friendly green eyes were intense and serious.

"You're scaring me a little, Aunt Bonnie."

"I'm sorry, Gray but this is scary stuff. Your mom told me about Jeremy's visit. If he knew what I'm about to tell you... I don't even want to think about what the people he works for would do."

"Ok, I promise I won't tell anyone."

She nodded and took a deep breath.

"Vampires are animated by magic. Their existence is the result of a centuries old spell that was cast by two of the most powerful witches ever known and one of them was a Bennett witch. When my ancestor made your dad human for a day, she couldn't have removed the vampire spell from his blood. She could only suppress it for a short period of time. It wasn't gone, it was just dormant. It was flowing through him right along with the magic from Emily's humanity spell when you were conceived. So, oddly enough, on the day that Damon was human there was an extraordinary amount of magic coursing through his veins."

"And that makes me, what, like super warlock?" He asked skeptically.

"I think, for the purposes of magic, you're half Bennett witch. But you've got a dose of something else in there. Something with an edge that I think came from the vampire spell. I think it heightens your power and how your magic manifests itself is going to depend a lot on what you're feeling."

"So, I really am part vampire?"

Aunt Bonnie laughed.

"Unless you start craving blood or performing mind control, no. You're a witch, a warlock, whatever you want to call it, but you are not part vampire. There's just a trace of the vampire spell in your blood. Most of what I sense in you is familiar, it's Bennett magic."

"Why did it all the sudden decide to make an appearance?"

He'd been holding these questions back for days and now he couldn't seem to stop himself from asking them.

"Right time, right place. Or wrong time, wrong place. How ever you want to look at it. My line is dying out. There are only two other witches that have a hint of Bennett magic in them and it's faint at best. I'm the last of the most powerful witch family to ever live and I think the spirits of my ancestors are desperate to ensure that we go on. I guess they've decided I'm a lost cause..." she paused and huffed out a frustrated breath.

"Anyway, it's true that I didn't sense anything in you when you were a baby, but you aren't an average witch. You were conceived under very strange and powerful circumstances. Witches come into our power at 16 and I think because you were here on your birthday and my ancestors sensed the Bennett magic in your blood, they chose to draw it out. Whether you think so or not, I'm sure they believe they've bestowed an incredible gift upon you."

Grayson tried to absorb everything she'd just told him but it was overwhelming. It felt like something strange and unfamiliar was inhabiting his body and he wasn't sure how he and it were going to coexist.

"What if I don't want it? What if I just want to be a normal person?" He asked quietly.

"I wish it worked that way, Grayson. I really do, but trust me, fighting it won't do you any good. It's part of you now and if you don't learn to control it, there will be consequences down the road."

"Can we be done for today?"

He felt numb and he just wanted to go home. Fortunately, Tori was having dinner with her dad tonight so he wouldn't have to explain his mood to her.

"Yes, you've had enough for one day" she told him kindly.

The test for his driver's license was the following week so his mom came to get him a few minutes later.

"Dad's at the grill with Ric if you want to head over there" she suggested when he hopped in the car.

"Can we just go home? I'm really tired."

"Sure, of course."

When they walked in the door of the house, his mom grabbed his arm before he could head up the stairs and escape to his room.

"What's wrong, Gray?" She asked gently, her brown eyes full of concern.

The words got lost in his throat so instead he stepped forward and hugged his mom. She was small but sturdy and she hugged him back fiercely.

"It's ok, everything will be ok" she soothed.

"Dad was right. We should've stayed in New York."

Mom pulled back and put a hand on his cheek.

"Your Aunt Bonnie says everything happens for a reason. Maybe this was supposed to happen. Maybe you'll end up using your magic to help people and it will be a good thing."

"Or maybe I'll accidentally burn the house down."

"Taught you the candle spell, huh?" She asked with a smile.

He frowned and nodded.

"Oh come on, that's a pretty cool trick."

"Sure, if I could control it but I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I was just supposed to light the one candle. The first time I lit like twenty candles and the second time I almost incinerated the coffee table. I don't know if I can do this."

"You can and you will. You couldn't ask for a better teacher than Bonnie and your dad and I will be there for you every step of the way. You can do this, Grayson, I know you can."

"I'm scared, Mom" he confessed.

"It's ok to be scared. I'd be worried if you weren't but you're strong, too. I know this isn't fair and it isn't what anyone wanted for you. No one understands that better than I do but you play the cards that fate deals and you never fold. No matter what, you keep going, you survive."

"Were you scared when you turned into a vampire?" He asked.

"I was terrified and it took me a while to adjust. It was hard but I got through it, just like you'll get through this."

Grayson took a deep breath and nodded. He decided he would tackle magic the same way he tackled school; he wouldn't overthink it, he would just do it. Even if he hated the subject, if he put his mind to something he could usually make sense of it.

"There's leftover ravioli in the fridge. Want to split it?" Mom asked.

"Yeah actually I'm starving."

Grayson plopped down at the table and stared at his hands. Despite his resolution to take a head-on approach to his power, his still felt like there was something foreign flowing through him. There was an intense and un-tamable quality to it that made him nervous. Mom stuck the pan in the oven and came to sit down across from him.

"You know, when I turned I was so afraid of being a vampire that I lost sight of who I was. I thought it was going to make me into a terrible person who hurt people. Instead, it made me a miserable person because I hated myself and I was constantly afraid of losing control" she told him.

"So, what did you do?"

"Your dad... He made me realize that being a vampire wasn't the end of my life, it was the beginning of a new one. Has being a vampire caused me to hurt people that I probably wouldn't have as a human? Yes. Am I sorry that I hurt them? More than you can ever know. But vampirism has also allowed me to save the lives of people I care about and I get to spend an eternity with the man I love. I can't change what I am but when I embraced it, I freed myself."

The oven timer beeped at them so he got up to retrieve the pan and two forks. He set the leftovers between them and handed his mom one of the utensils. They ate in comfortable silence while he considered what she'd told him. This was how his mom gave him advice; she would tell him a story. Whether it was true or she made it up on the spot, it was always relevant and it never failed to make him re-think the situation. Mom's chirping phone broke the quiet and he saw his dad's name on the screen.

"Hi. Grayson wanted to come home so we're here. Are you and Ric still at the Grill?" She answered.

Then her face fell.

"What? How long ago? Ok. Yes, ok, I got it" she said, her voice strained and upset.

Mom hung up and swore under her breath.

"Your dad said he and Stefan saw three black SUV's headed this way. He thinks he can beat them here but we need to stay inside. I don't care what you see out there, you stay in the house" she told him and went to the front window.

He followed her and no more than five minutes later, he could see three black dots about a mile down the road. Just as they were about to reach the driveway, his dad materialized from nowhere and stood in front of them. The first SUV screeched to a halt just a few feet from where he was standing. Four men clad in black SWAT gear exited the car and pointed guns at Dad. One of them shot him in the chest and he fell to the ground.

"Dad!" He screamed and his mom grabbed his arm as he tried to go to the door.

"It's ok. Just stay here."

"They shot him!" Grayson yelled at his mom, trying to tug away from her grasp.

"Your dad knows what he's doing."

He turned back to the window to see one of the men kick his dad in the side. He didn't move and a sick feeling rolled through Grayson. Then, just as the men were crowding around him and crouching down to grab him, Dad sprung up from the ground. He tore the guns away from three of the men and broke their necks before he grabbed the shotgun from the last man and shoved it muzzle first through his chest. The man fell to the ground, the shotgun still protruding from his breastbone. It had taken Dad less than a minute to kill four people and something inside him clicked. _This_ was why people were afraid of his family.

"Holy shit..." he murmured.

Two beings moving at vampire speed flew at the second vehicle before he saw Uncle Stefan and Aunt Caroline tear the doors from the car and drag the three occupants out. One of them got a shot off at Aunt Caroline but it hit her shoulder and she looked more pissed off than injured. She reached out and snapped his neck. The other man Aunt Caroline had pulled from the car took two steps towards Dad. His dad's hand swept up with a flat palm and suddenly the man's head was missing. Actually, it wasn't missing, it was lying on the ground next to where his body had collapsed in a heap. His dad shook the blood off his hand like it was excess dish water and turned to the third vehicle. Uncle Stefan wasn't as fast as Dad and one of the men had him pinned to the car with a stake pointed at his chest. His dad paused on his way to the third car and punched his hand into the back of the man that was pinning his uncle. When he pulled his hand back, there was a human heart in it. Dad tossed it aside. Six more guys leapt from the last SUV and Grayson recognized the tall, dark haired man at the front. It was his Uncle Jeremy and he was pointing a crossbow at his dad's chest.

"No" he heard his mom whisper desperately.

An arrow left the crossbow but his dad caught it a second before it went through his heart. His dad, his uncle and his aunt were lined up with his dad at the center and they looked ready to pounce. With the exception of Jeremy, they were all pointing handguns at his family members and they opened fire on the trio of vampires. They scattered so fast Grayson couldn't even see them moving. One of the shooters got lucky and, all of the sudden, his uncle was on the ground. A massive blood stain was forming on his stomach and he was struggling to get up.

The panic he'd felt before had turned into full blown fear. He had to _do_ something. Anything. What good was having this stupid magic if he couldn't help his family when they needed him? Then it hit him; gunpowder. Gunpowder was flammable and these men had a lot of guns. He focused on the guns, imagining the bullets burning red hot inside the weapons.

" _Phasmatos incendia"_ he growled angrily.

A series of loud pops that sounded a lot like fireworks rang out and the guns began to explode in the hands of the men holding them. Dad dropped to the ground to take cover, shoving his aunt down along with him. The men started to scream as they stared at the bloody stumps that had once been their hands.

"Gray, did you do that?" His mom asked hesitantly.

He nodded solemnly at her and felt his hands begin to shake. Uncle Jeremy turned and appeared to say something to the men. They all scrambled back into the SUV and it tore off in reverse down the road. Dad jumped to his feet and raced into the house. He saw relief wash over his dad's face when he saw them. Aunt Caroline was behind him, half carrying Uncle Stefan.

"Jesus, what the fuck was that?" Dad demanded.

"Bonnie taught Grayson the fire spell today" Mom said, looking a little worried.

"That was _you_?" His dad asked, sounding shocked.

"Uh-huh" he replied dazedly.

Grayson wasn't sure how he felt about what had just happened. It was all a little hazy at the moment. He knew he was more grateful to see his dad than he ever had been before but the terror still seemed to have a hold on him and he was struggling to breathe. Dad was hugging him a second later.

"You're ok, it's ok."

"There are dead men in our driveway. How is that ok?" He yelled and pushed away from the embrace.

Dad grabbed his shoulders and his gaze dropped to the floor.

"Look at me" his dad insisted.

Grayson lifted his eyes.

"You're right, dead guys in the driveway is not ok but you just saved us. Those men would have killed us and taken you with them, to God knows where. You did what you had to do" his dad told him resolutely.

"Do...do you think I killed them?"

"Probably not" Dad said but didn't appear overly confident about the answer.

"Grayson" his uncle's voice croaked from the couch.

Aunt Caroline had handed him a half full glass of bourbon and sat down next to him. There was a small dark stain on her shoulder from where she'd been shot but she didn't look like she was in any pain. Uncle Stefan, on the other hand, had taken a shotgun blast to the stomach and he looked miserable.

"Thank you. Another minute out there and I'd be dead. You saved my life" his uncle told him with a ghost of a smile.

"Will you be ok?" Grayson asked, eyeing the splotch of blood on his shirt.

"I'll heal" he assured him.

 **O** ne of the first things out of Damon's mouth when he'd found out about the pregnancy was that his brother would make a far better uncle than he would a father. So far, he felt like he'd done a pretty decent job at the dad thing. Much better than he had ever imagined he would but, even when he was a baby, Stefan had always known exactly what to say to soothe his nephew. Some things, he supposed, would never change. Damon watched as his son's shoulders relaxed when he heard his uncle tell him he'd saved his life.

Their connection had been instantaneous and Stefan had never once faltered as a parental figure. It had irked Damon for weeks after they brought Grayson home that Stefan was able to rock his son to sleep when all the baby did was scream when Damon held him. He'd been on the verge of losing his mind over it but, of course, it had been his brother who brought him closer to his son.

 _"Do you remember when I was born?" Stefan asked him one night as he placed_ _a sleeping_ _Grayson in his crib._

 _"Vaguely" Damon responded irritably from the rocking chair_ _where he had spent the last hour trying to coddle a screaming baby._

" _Vaguely?" his brother asked skeptically._

" _It was 150 years ago, Stefan."_

" _You know what I remember?_ _When I was little,_ _I remember it was you that taught me how to tie my shoes and ride a pony. When I fell down and hurt myself, I came running to you, Damon. Not our mother, not our father, to you. Because I knew you would be there for me. Dad would have yelled at me for crying and mom would've been mad that I'd ruined the clothes,_ _but you just cleaned me up and made me laugh."_

" _Is there a point to this trip down memory lane?" he asked drolly._

" _You knew what childhood was supposed to be. You knew then and you know now. And if you could relax around your_ _kid, you could be a_ _great_ _father."_

" _I am relaxed" he said through his teeth._

 _His brother stifled a laugh and he_ _narrowed his eyes_ _at him._

" _Look, I know this is driving you nuts and I can tell when you're about to snap_ _so just listen. You tense up the second Grayson is in your arms_ _and if you're freaked out, he senses that and he freaks out._ _You act like you're_ _afraid you're going to drop him or something_ _but you won't. You aren't going to hurt him."_

" _How do you know? I hurt everyone I love, eventually" Damon told him darkly._

" _That's the attitude that'll_ _drive a wedge between you and your son" his brother told him before leaving the room._

 _He dragged his hands over his face and stood up to look down at Grayson. He'd lied when he said he didn't remember his brother being born. Their mother had given birth to him in their house and they had tried to kick him out but he wouldn't leave. He'd wanted to be there when his sibling came into the world. A baby brother had been in his prayers every night and he had gotten_ _his wish. From his seven-year-old's vantage point, he had_ _peered_ _at Stefan that first night_ _when he was asleep, and he'd known instantly that he loved his baby brother more than he'd ever loved anyone._

 _Now as he gazed down at his son, he felt a similar emotion wash_ _over him. He felt it every time he looked at the baby. It was a furious need to protect him coupled with a love that was almost overpowering. Gently, he reached down and placed his index finger in his son's tiny hand and his little digits curled tightly around Damon's. He stood there like that, with his finger wrapped in Grayson's hand, for hours._ _He thought about the first time he'd held his_ _little brother in his arms and how easy it had been back then. So much had changed about him since his brother's birth in 1847 but surely there was at least a smidgen of that person still in him._ _The test came sometime in the pre-dawn hours when Grayson stirred and began to cry again._ _He plucked a bottle of the milk Elena had pumped from the mini-fridge and stuck it in the bottle warmer. Then_ _Damon rolled his neck, breathed in and out deeply, and gently picked up the baby. A memory of himself chattering nonsense at_ _a tiny version of_ _Stefan struck him. He sat them down in the rocker but this time he tried to take his brother's advice and relax._

" _Shh,_ _shh, it's ok, little guy. I'm here and your midnight snack is on its way" he murmured._

 _Grayson's cries had subsided a little and he_ _seemed to like the sound of_ _Damon's_ _voice so he kept talking in a hushed tone._

" _You know that's the first thing I thought when I saw your mother? She looked like a tasty midnight snack..._ _I probably shouldn't have told you that but you don't understand me yet and, unlike your mother, I don't have Goodnight Moon memorized."_

 _The milk was finally done and, for the first time, when he held the tip to the baby's mouth, he took it and stopped crying all-together. If he hadn't been feeding an infant, he might have done a little victory dance._

From then on, it had only gotten easier and now the young man that stood next to him was, in every sense of the phrase, his pride and joy. Seeing the terror on his face this afternoon had been nightmarish but now his boy just looked exhausted. Damon touched his arm and he started.

"You alright, Gray?"

"Yeah I think I just want to be alone for a minute" he said quietly.

"Ok, don't go far though" Damon told him worriedly.

Grayson nodded and wandered in the direction of the backyard. Damon gave him two minutes and then crept out the side door and followed after him. He was sitting on the stone ledge of the patio that looked out over the yard and into the trees. Damon stood in the shadows of an alcove, wanting to give him his space, but there was no chance he was going to leave him alone after what had just happened. Grayson sat there for 30 minutes, just staring out at the trees and sighing occasionally.

"I know you're out here. You can come out now" he said eventually.

Damon's eyes widened in surprise but he stepped out from the alcove and came to sit next to his son. They didn't say anything for a while, they just sat there and stared at the trees.

"I've never seen you kill anybody before" he said finally.

"I know."

Damon had gone to great pains to prevent his son from seeing exactly what he'd just witnessed.

"I knew you guys were fast and strong but…wow" Grayson said, sounding bewildered.

"I'm sorry you had to see it."

"Me too but in a way, I'm kind of glad."

He gave his son a questioning look.

"I didn't get why Tori was so afraid to meet you guys but now I understand. I've lived with vampires my whole life and the weirdest thing I've ever seen was a massive cooler full of blood bags. I know you were just trying to protect me but I think I needed to understand it now."

"You aren't afraid of me, are you?" Damon asked.

It was his biggest worry in life, that he would do something stupid and impulsive that would make his son afraid of him.

"No. I know you wouldn't hurt me."

"Good. I need you to know that" he told him earnestly.

They sat quietly for a few more minutes before Grayson spoke again.

"I don't want to hurt people, Dad."

He sounded just like his mother. Damon had no problem hurting people. Especially people who attacked his family, but he tried to understand.

"I know you don't but you protected your family today. There's nothing for you to feel guilty about."

"If I didn't kill them, I probably ruined their lives by blowing off their hands" he said miserably.

"They shouldn't have been standing in your driveway with guns trying to kidnap you. I know this is hard. Believe me, I know about guilt. But you have to forgive yourself for this, Grayson."

"I wasn't even thinking about those men when I did it. I just did it. What kind of evil person just blows people's hands off without thinking about it?"

Damon turned and faced him.

"You are a good, kind, compassionate person, just like your mom. And just like her, you would do anything to protect the people you love. Your mom isn't evil, is she?"

"No."

"She killed ten people from that same group of lunatics to save my life once. That wasn't easy for her but she did it because she loves me and we made vows to protect each other."

"Another one you'll tell me some other time?"

Grayson sounded resigned but considering what had just happened, Damon figured the kid could handle this story.

"You know what? Screw it. You're more mature than 90 percent of the adults I know so I think you can handle it. A few months before we left for New York, your Uncle Jeremy lured me into a trap. The Augustine's, the people Jeremy works for, tortured me for two weeks before your mom and Stefan rescued me."

"Torture?" the boy asked, clearly horrified.

"They experiment on vampires. We're the perfect test subject; everything heals and grows back."

"But that's…"

"Evil?" Damon asked and gave him a pointed look.

Grayson nodded.

"Point taken."

"What you did today doesn't make you evil. If you start killing people for fun, then you can talk to me about being evil. I'm not saying you have to forget about what you did and not let it affect you at all, but you'll go insane if you spend the rest of your life beating yourself up about it."

"What're you going to do about the driveway?"

"Your mom and Caroline are taking care of it."

"You stabbed a guy with a shotgun" Grayson said sounding impressed.

Most of the time, the kid's personality reminded him so much of his mother it was unreal but, every once in a while, he caught a glimpse of his own disposition in there too.

"Yeah well, he was wearing a bulletproof vest" he said with a half-smile.

"It was scary as hell when it was happening but, when I think about it, it's like it was happening in a movie. It doesn't seem real."

"You're probably in a little bit of shock. It'll hit you later."

 **A/N – Don't hate me for leaving it there! I promise to be back as soon as I can. Thank you so much for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - This is pretty much Salvatore family fluff. Special thank you to** **HeyStardust** **for pointing out the lack of Damon/Elena/Grayson scenes – you were absolutely right and I hope you enjoy** **this chapter!**

 **Xoxo ~P**

 **Chapter 5**

"So, what do we do now?" Grayson asked.

"I don't know. Let's go talk to your mom about it."

They found Elena in the kitchen throwing together leftovers from the night before. She looked strangely calm and when she saw them, she smiled brightly.

"Hey! I don't know about you guys but I'm starving" she said when she saw them.

"Yeah, sure I could eat" Grayson said and looked at Damon with raised eyebrows.

He shrugged and scrounged up a bottle of bourbon before sitting down at the table. Grayson followed suit and sat down across from him. Elena set three plates of homemade fried rice on the table and took her seat next to Damon. Asian food wasn't really Damon's forte but the local take-out place was awful so he'd been experimenting. They ate in silence for a while and he was grateful to his wife for not freaking out about the days' events. If she panicked, their son would panic and the absolute last thing they needed was a panicked teenager with magical powers.

"Why does Jeremy hate you so much?" Grayson asked him.

"Because we tried to protect him by lying to him about Vicki and the vampires. When he figured it out on his own, your grandfather introduced him to the Augustine's and they have drawers full of the misdeeds of Damon Salvatore" he told him.

"Do you guys know who killed Vicki?"

Damon gave Elena a long look and she sighed.

"My biological mother killed her."

Grayson blinked at them and opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"I know, it's weird" Elena said.

"But. . .why?" Grayson asked.

"Because she was a heartless monster."

"Was?" Grayson asked.

"She's dead. I killed her" Damon told him.

"Why don't I know any of this?"

"You've never asked" Elena said with a shrug.

"If I ask now, will you tell me the truth?"

"Of course. When have we ever lied to you?"

"Ok so tell me about your biological mom. What happened to her?"

"I'm going to need more bourbon for this story" Damon said and took a long swig straight from the bottle.

"Your dad...um..."

"I turned her" Damon finished for her.

"What?" Grayson asked with wide eyes.

"I didn't know who she was when I did it and I...wasn't myself back then. I was in a dark place and when she found me and asked me to turn her, I did it."

"Why did you kill her?"

"Fair warning, this story only gets weirder. Isobel, your biological grandmother, was married to your uncle Ric before I turned her. She hadn't seen him in years but when he decided to finally move on and propose to Jenna, she turned into the green-eyed monster and tried to kill Jenna."

"Wait, so Grandpa John had a thing with this Isobel woman but Uncle Ric married her and then you killed her. . .twice?"

"That about covers it, yeah."

"That's kind of fucked up."

"Language!" Elena scolded.

"Sorry...but it's true."

"You live as long as I have, things get fucked up."

Elena glared at him but he only shrugged. Grayson swearing was the least of his worries.

"Is this what life in Mystic Falls is going to be like? Weird fu. . .er, messed up stuff happening all the time?"

"That's always been my experience in this town."

"That's not true. We have lots of happy memories here and so will you. Bad things happen no matter where you live. You just have to focus on the good stuff" Elena countered, giving Damon a pointed look.

"We could go back to New York" Grayson suggested.

"I don't think running away is an option, kiddo. This kind of thing tends to follow you wherever you go" Damon said.

"Then I need to learn more magic."

"Yeah, because starting fires with your mind is kid's stuff" Damon said with a raised eyebrow.

"But you just said it, stuff like this is going to keep happening. I have to know how to protect myself."

"You managed just fine today" Elena told him.

"That was dumb luck. What if you guys aren't there next time?"

The thought made Damon nauseas but the boy had a point. He and Stefan had gotten away with teaching Grayson to shoot a gun but she had drawn the line at physical violence. Now he wished he'd pushed harder for the karate class.

"I guess that's fair but magic will only get you so far. If you want to learn to defend yourself, I'll teach you" he said.

"Really?" Grayson asked excitedly.

"Damon!"

"Don't _Damon_ me, Elena. He's right. We can't be next to him every second of every day and, as I recall, you went through a Buffy phase yourself before you turned."

"That was different" she insisted.

"How?" Damon demanded and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I knew what I was up against."

"He watched me kill half a dozen people today. I think he has a pretty good idea."

"Do I get a say in this?" Grayson asked.

"No" they said in unison.

He gave them a sullen look and made a 'hmph' sound. Elena stared him down for a long moment before her shoulders sagged.

"Fine, but I'm going to help you teach him."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, my little Warrior Princess" Damon said and smirked at her.

Elena's eyes twinkled at the nickname and she grinned back at him.

"So, how's school going?" she asked, obviously hoping to change the subject.

"Really?" Grayson asked with an incredulous look.

"Yes, really. Life can't be all vampires, witches, and secret societies."

Damon mentally patted her on the back for trying to maintain some sense of normalcy.

"It's ok, I guess. My English teacher and my science teacher think I should switch to honors classes next semester. They don't think I'm being challenged enough" he told her with air quotes around the word 'challenged'.

"Do the classes feel too easy?" Elena asked.

School had never been a problem for Grayson. He'd never come home with anything less than a B+ and his teachers always gushed about what a great kid he was. There had even been a mother at one of St. John's 'parent nights' that had offered Damon and Elena an exorbitant amount of money to have Grayson tutor her son. Grayson told them he'd rather poke his eye out with a pencil when they mentioned it to him and Damon had to compel the woman to stop asking him about it.

"If I say 'yes' are you going to make me take the honors classes?"

"Not if you don't want to but I don't want you to be bored either" he told Grayson.

His son shrugged.

"It's all pretty easy but I'm not bored. It's kind of nice not stressing over tests and homework."

Damon narrowed his eyes at him and Elena pursed her lips.

"Shouldn't there be at least one thing in my life that's not complicated? I promise, if I get bored I'll talk to Uncle Ric about switching to honors classes."

"Pinky promise?" Elena asked and held up her little finger.

Grayson hooked his finger through hers and shook it.

"Pinky promise."

Damon still had his doubts and he was going to mention it to Ric but, for now, he let it go. He looked up at the clock and realized it was after nine.

"It's getting late. Gray, go get ready for bed" he told him.

"I'm not tired."

"I don't care."

"But..."

"It's been a long day and I don't feel like arguing with you. Go to bed" Damon insisted.

"I'm really not tired, though" the boy whined.

"Grayson, if you don't get your ass up those stairs and brush your teeth, I will compel you."

He had promised Elena a long time ago that he would never compel their son, and he had no intention of following through on the threat, but he was exhausted and his patience was worn thin. With a sour look on his face, Grayson pushed up from the table and huffed up the stairs to his room.

"I know, I know, I promised no compulsion but..."

Elena put her hand up to stop him.

"It's ok, I know. I'm going to get us some blood. Just relax" she told him with a gentle smile.

He let out a relieved sigh and nodded.

A few seconds after Elena walked out, Caroline came into the kitchen and hopped up on the counter.

"The driveway is now free of dead people" she announced.

"Thanks, Blondie."

"You're welcome. How's Grayson?"

"He's either taking this extremely well or he's in shock and he's going to freak out any minute."

"Well he's half Elena so I'd put my money on the former."

"I can't decide whether I hope you're right or not" he said dryly.

"He's going to be ok, Damon."

"He has to be. If something happened to him...I would lose my mind."

"We all would. I know he's your son but he's the closest thing I'm ever going to have to a child and you know Stefan feels the same way. We would die for him."

"I know. I'm glad you're here."

"I'm sorry, what did you just say? Can you say that again real slow for me? I'm going to record it" she said with a wide smile.

"Shut up" he said but grinned back.

"I'm going to go say goodnight to Grayson" she told him and jumped down from the countertop.

"Make sure he actually goes to bed, please" Damon called after her as Elena walked back into the kitchen with the blood bags.

She handed him one and sat back down across from him. They sipped in silence for a minute before Elena set hers down and gave him an affectionate smile.

"What?" He asked with a smirk.

"I don't think I tell you often enough what a wonderful father you are."

"You're a pretty fantastic parent yourself" he told her.

"I know we have a long way to go still but I think we're kind of kicking ass at this whole parenting thing. For being raised by vampires, our son is extremely well adjusted."

"Cheers to us then" he said and tipped his bag towards her.

She picked hers up and tapped it against his with a giggle.

Two days later, on a Saturday, Damon and Elena woke Grayson up at dawn for his first self-defense lesson. They'd expected a groggy, irritable teenager but he jumped out of bed and got dressed in less than five minutes. They drank a cup of coffee and ate breakfast before they headed out to the backyard where Damon had dragged a punching dummy and a few other essentials. He and Elena agreed that they were going to start with hand to hand since, as far as they knew, Grayson had never punched anyone in his life.

"Alright, first things first. Make a fist" Damon instructed.

His son held up his hand with his thumb curled under his fingers.

"Nope. You're going to break your thumb like that."

He took hold of Grayson's hand and rearranged his fingers so his thumb was on the outside and laid across his index finger.

"Like this, ok?"

Grayson nodded.

"Ok, now try to hit me."

"Um...are you sure?" Grayson asked uncertainly and glanced back at where his mother was standing.

"You're going to need a lot of practice before you even come close to hitting a vampire, I promise" Elena assured him.

Still looking skeptical, Grayson pulled his hand back and punched towards Damon's face. He caught his fist gently and smiled at his stunned looking son.

"Woah, I didn't even see you move."

"Told ya. So, when you throw a punch, you want to use your whole body not just your arm. Stand with one foot in front of the other, like this."

Damon took a fight stance and Grayson copied him.

"Square your shoulders and plant your legs, Gray. Don't lean forward like that" Elena told him.

He stood up straighter and Damon could see him put more weight on his legs.

"Good, that's good. Ok, now throw your whole shoulder into the punch" Damon said.

He did and Damon caught his fist again with a proud grin.

"Perfect! Now hit the dummy just like that."

Grayson took a deep breath and stood in front of the dummy. He took the stance Damon had showed him and punched the dummy's grouchy looking rubber face.

"Ow!" He shouted and shook his fist in surprise.

Damon saw Elena wince but she kept her mommy instincts in check and said nothing.

"Sorry, kid. I wanted you to know that hitting people hurts. Put the gloves on" Damon told him and nodded towards the training gloves that were on the ground.

"But I won't have gloves in real life."

"You have to build up strength in your hands. It took me weeks of practice before I could hit a dummy without the gloves" Elena told him.

Grayson grudgingly strapped the gloves on and faced the dummy again.

"Ok, now comes the workout. You're going to hit him with two short jabs using your right hand and then get him with a left hook. Then switch hands. Two short jabs with your left, one right hook."

Damon punched the air to show him what he meant.

"Got it?"

"Yep."

Grayson went through the routine once and then looked to Damon.

"That's it. That's what we're doing today. You're going to do that over and over until it feels like your arms are going to fall off."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Now get punching."

Damon leaned against the stone wall and watched his son do six sets before he stopped. His breath was ragged and he rested his hands on his knees.

"Alright, take a break. Here, drink some water" Elena said and handed him a bottle.

Grayson finished it in three gulps and swiped at the sweat on his brow. He stood next to Damon, trying to catch his breath.

"What did you mean when you said mom went through a Buffy phase?" He asked when he was breathing normally again.

"Before I turned, your dad and Uncle Ric taught me to fight."

"Were you any good at it?"

"Are you kidding? I kicked ass."

"Ha!" Damon laughed.

Elena raised her eyebrows at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You never landed a single punch."

"Not on you but that wasn't a fair fight" she argued.

He grinned widely at the memory of human Elena trying to come at him. She'd been adorably frustrated and he'd enjoyed egging her on.

"So who's stronger?" Grayson asked curiously.

"Me. Vampires get stronger the longer they live" Damon told him.

"I could still take you" Elena said confidently.

"Not a chance, newbie."

 **A** girl in one of his classes at St. John's had asked him once if his parents were really as crazy about each other as they seemed and his answer had, of course, been 'yes'. She'd seemed doubtful and when Grayson saw her parents together at a school charity event, he'd understood why. They didn't touch, they barely spoke and they only seemed to smile when their daughter was nearby. His parents were almost always touching if they were near each other and his dad never seemed to run out of endearing nicknames for his mom. Sure they fought sometimes but mostly they teased one another and laughter had been far more prevalent in their house than shouting. Grayson felt sorry for the girl and had vowed to always be grateful for the fact that his parents really loved each other. So, when his mother launched herself at his father and ended up flung over Dad's shoulder, he just stood back and watched with a grin.

"Now what?" Dad teased her as he held onto her squirming form.

"This!"

Mom buried her fingers in his ribs and started to tickle him mercilessly. To Grayson's surprise, his dad broke into a fit of laughter and Mom fell off his shoulder. Dad scooped her back into his arms before she hit the ground and he set her on her feet with a chuckle.

"For the record, tickling is not an appropriate form of self-defense" Dad told him.

"I can't believe you're ticklish" he said with a mischievous grin.

"And if you ever tell anyone that, you'll spend an entire year thinking your name is Polly Prissypants."

Grayson tried but he couldn't seem to wipe the smirk off his face.

"Think that's pretty funny, do you? Five more sets with the dummy" Dad told him.

The smile disappeared.

"Aw, come on. My arms are killing me" he whined.

"Can you move them?"

"Well...yeah."

"Then you're not done yet" Dad said and ticked his head towards dummy.

"Geez, drill sergeant much?" Mom asked, shooting him a worried look.

"I'm fine, Mom" Grayson told her and started punching again.

His arms were screaming at him but he wanted to show his dad that he wasn't a quitter. If Dad said punch the dummy until his arms fell off, then that was what he was going to do. _Jab, jab, hook. Switch. Jab, jab, hook. Switch._ The routine was actually kind of calming. There was nothing but him and the dummy that he had decided to name Oscar, for his grumpy expression. All the other stressors in his life seemed to fade away as he focused his full attention on the physical motions. He counted ten sets before his arms went limp and he looked back to his parents.

"Ok, now I can't move them" he wheezed out.

"You did great!" Mom encouraged.

Dad nodded in agreement and held out another bottle of water. The bottle felt like it weighed a hundred pounds as he lifted it to his mouth with trembling hands. Sports had never been his thing. Sometimes he watched football with his dad and uncle but he'd never felt the urge to try out for any teams. Academia was more up his alley and the debate team had qualified as the obligatory extracurricular activity at St. John's. In hindsight, maybe he should have joined the track team or something.

"I feel like a wimp" he said and sat down on the grass.

"You're not a wimp. You're just a little out of shape" Mom told him and plopped down next to him.

"She's right. With some training, you'll be kicking ass and taking names in no time."

"If you say so."

"I do say so. Go take a shower. You can call Tori to meet you at the grill. I think you've earned a cheeseburger."

 _ **Author's Update - September 27, 2018: To all the wonderful people who have asked if I plan to finish this story, the answer is "YES!". However, the fine print on that statement reads "sometime in the future, at an unknown date" because I have no idea when I'll have time to sit down and give this story the ending it deserves. I foresee at least another 3 chapters out of this and my hope is to have some keyboard time this winter. I can't make any promises but there**_ might _**be an end in early 2019.**_

 _ **Xoxo**_ _ **~P**_


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